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Taking the sacrament to the homebound

When I was younger, before the consolidated block we have now, the sacrament used to be administered during junior Sunday School. Aside from making me feel really old, I have some unique memories from attending church.

One of my favorite primary songs we sang as the bread was being broken was “We Bow Our Heads.”

For the first time in my life, I was invited to take the sacrament to a sister in the ward who is recuperating from surgery.

As I drove with another brother in my ward to this sister’s house, I thought of the words to the first verse of the song:

We bow our heads and close our eyes

And say a little prayer

We thank our father graciously

For blessings we all share

Prior to administering the sacrament, we spent nearly 30 minutes visiting with this sister and her husband, who is not yet a member of the Church. She is not able to leave the house, except for doctor’s visits and other necessary trips, so she does not have the opportunity to visit with many people other than close friends, family, and a few neighbors. She seemed to enjoy and appreciate the visit.

After a pleasant discussion with this sister and her husband, we asked her if we could proceed with the sacrament. She agreed and my companion and I prepared for the ordinance of the sacrament.

I felt humbled as I gave the blessing for the bread. Near the middle of the prayer, I fought back tears as I realized the significance of our visit to this sweet sister.

I handed her the bread I had just blessed; she ate it and thanked me.

My companion then blessed the water and handed her the cup of water.

After we finished, we thanked her for letting us into her home, and excused ourselves to return home to our families.

As we drove away, I felt a tremendous spiritual uplift for being worthy to exercise my priesthood to bless the life of this sister in my ward.

10 thoughts on “Taking the sacrament to the homebound”

It is, actually. Seemed less common when I lived in Mesa, Arizona, but it happens weekly in Connecticut where I now live.

My father-in-law is a practicing Catholic. I will have to ask him about administering the Eucharist for shut-ins. I think it is a wonderful practice for every faith to make sure that communion is available to everyone who wants it.

As a priest, myself or another priest would go weekly to a woman’s house and offer her the sacrament. She suffered from MS and was unable to attend church. Her great home teacher would take a priest each week to her house. The home teacher didn’t administer the sacrament–though he was capable–but he deferred to the priests thus teaching and training us.

Ardis: Thank you for stopping by, Ardis. If I ever reach your level of writing, I will be worthy of praise. I always enjoy reading your blog posts on Keepa, even if I am reticent to comment while surrounded by the usual host of intellectuals who read and comment on your blog.

A Well-Behaved Mormon Woman: True religion, yes, but how could the brethren of the priesthood ever hope to catch up or even equal the level (and quality) of service given so often by the sisters of the Relief Society? While I was off giving service, my wife was making it possible by watching our children. No man can serve effectively without the aid of is wife.

Jose: Isn’t it wonderful to have great teachers who train us and show us the way?

The sister who taught the class spent a semester in Israel and had pictures of her passover experience. Her lesson really brought the sacrament into perspective for me like I have never understood it before. Something just clicked and I had an “aha” moment. I love those learning moments!!

Thank you for sharing your experience. That is so wonderful that you are able to serve the sister. I think people also need to be aware of people with mental conditions who people may judge as being able to go to Church because physically they are able. Sometimes they may need the Sacrament brought to their homes. Of course, there may need to be discretion when making such a decision.